Nikkei rebounds as weak yen offsets earnings worries

TOKYO Feb 8 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
rebounded on Monday, crawling back from an early two-week low as
a weak yen offset concerns about weak Japanese companies'
earnings and slumping U.S. stocks.

The Nikkei was up 1.4 percent at 17,057.53 points by
mid-afternoon after falling as low as 16,552.30 in morning
trade, the lowest since Jan. 22.

The market turned positive after the dollar rose above 117
yen.

"Investors are seen unwinding their buy-yen, sell-stocks
positions which were persistent in the past few days," said
Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.

Investors remained on edge after U.S. stocks fell on Friday,
while mixed U.S. jobs data failed to provide clues on the
Federal Reserve's policy outlook.

On Friday, U.S. employment gains slowed more than expected
in January as the boost to hiring from unseasonably mild weather
faded, but rising wages and an unemployment rate at an
eight-year low suggested the labor market recovery remains firm.